Hip Pain
Suffering with hip pain, stiffness, or difficulty walking comfortably?
Hip pain can make simple movement feel much harder than it should. Walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of a car, standing from a chair, sleeping on your side, exercising, or even putting on your shoes may trigger aching, stiffness, weakness, or sharp discomfort around the hip.
At Whole Family Chiropractic in Anchorage, AK, we help patients with hip pain, stiffness, mobility problems, lower back-related hip symptoms, and other joint concerns understand what may be contributing to their discomfort and what treatment options may be appropriate.
Our approach looks beyond the painful area alone. We evaluate your hip movement, pelvis, lower back, posture, muscle function, previous injuries, and health history so we can create a personalized plan designed to improve mobility, reduce irritation, and support better overall function.
What Causes Hip Pain?
The hip joint is a large ball-and-socket joint designed to provide both stability and movement. It works closely with the pelvis, lower back, surrounding muscles, tendons, and connective tissues during walking, standing, lifting, and nearly every lower-body activity.
Hip pain may develop from joint irritation, muscle or tendon strain, arthritis, bursitis, repetitive activity, previous injuries, reduced mobility, or problems involving the lower back and SI joint. In some cases, pain felt near the hip may actually be referred from another area, which is why identifying the source matters.
Common Hip Pain Symptoms
Some hip problems cause mild stiffness that comes and goes. Others can significantly limit walking, exercise, sleep, and normal daily activity.
Common symptoms may include:
- Aching or soreness around the hip
- Pain in the groin, outer hip, or buttock
- Stiffness after sitting or sleeping
- Pain when walking or climbing stairs
- Difficulty getting in or out of a chair or car
- Pain when lying on the affected side
- Reduced hip mobility or flexibility
- Weakness or discomfort during exercise
The location and severity of symptoms can vary depending on whether the problem involves the joint, muscles, tendons, bursa, lower back, pelvis, or surrounding structures.
When these symptoms continue, it is important to determine whether the problem involves the hip itself, referred pain from the spine, SI joint mechanics, muscle imbalance, arthritis, or a combination of factors.
When Hip Pain Starts Affecting Your Life
Hip pain can gradually change the way you move without you realizing how much you are compensating. You may shorten your stride, avoid stairs, shift more weight onto one leg, stop sleeping on one side, or reduce activity because certain movements no longer feel comfortable.
For active Anchorage residents, hip pain can also interfere with hiking, skiing, walking on uneven terrain, exercising, working outdoors, or simply keeping up with family. When hip discomfort begins changing how you walk, stand, sleep, or move through the day, identifying the source becomes increasingly important.
Hip Pain Relief in Anchorage
At Whole Family Chiropractic, our chiropractors in Anchorage evaluate more than the exact location of your hip pain. We look at hip mobility, pelvic mechanics, lower back movement, posture, strength, previous injuries, daily activities, and movement patterns that may be placing additional stress on the area.
Depending on your findings, your care plan may include chiropractic care, extremity adjusting, advanced corrective chiropractic, physical rehabilitation, mobility and strengthening exercises, supportive therapeutic techniques, or a combination of approaches available within our Anchorage clinic.
The goal is not to assume every painful hip has the same problem. It is to identify which structures and movement patterns may be involved and determine which type of care makes sense for your specific condition and goals.
Chiropractic Care for Hip Pain
Chiropractic care may be recommended when restricted movement in the hip, pelvis, lower back, or surrounding joints appears to be contributing to discomfort.
Whole Family Chiropractic uses multiple chiropractic techniques, including approaches for extremity joints, allowing our doctors to adapt care based on the location of the problem, comfort level, previous injuries, and clinical findings. When hip pain involves significant arthritis, structural damage, or another condition, care may need to be modified accordingly.
Your chiropractor will determine which areas should be treated and whether chiropractic or extremity adjustments are appropriate.
Hip Mobility, Strength, and Rehabilitation
Hip function depends on coordinated movement between the joint, pelvis, lower back, and surrounding muscles.
Depending on your condition, rehabilitation may focus on improving hip mobility, strength, stability, flexibility, and movement patterns involved in walking, climbing stairs, squatting, lifting, or exercising.
Your care plan may also include home exercises designed to reinforce improved movement and help you gradually return to normal activities.
Advanced Corrective Chiropractic with Chiropractic BioPhysics
For patients whose hip symptoms occur alongside significant postural or structural problems, our team may recommend advanced corrective chiropractic care using Chiropractic BioPhysics® (CBP).
CBP focuses on spinal alignment, posture, and biomechanics rather than symptoms alone. When clinically appropriate, postural analysis and diagnostic X-rays may help identify structural patterns involving the spine and pelvis that could be influencing weight distribution and lower-body mechanics.
A customized corrective plan may incorporate Mirror Image® adjustments, corrective exercises, traction, and home recommendations designed around your individual findings.
Hip Rehabilitation and Supportive Care
Persistent hip pain can cause your body to compensate by changing the way you walk, stand, climb stairs, or shift your weight.
Depending on your needs, care may include physical rehabilitation and supportive therapies available within our Anchorage clinic. Whole Family Chiropractic offers a comprehensive physical medicine program that can incorporate chiropractic care, extremity treatment, rehabilitation, mobility work, strengthening, and therapeutic techniques based on each patient’s individual needs.
Our goal is to help you regain comfortable movement, improve function, and return to everyday activities with greater confidence.
Hip Pain, SI Joint Pain, and Lower Back Pain
These conditions can feel similar, but they are not exactly the same.
Hip pain may originate from the joint, muscles, tendons, bursa, or surrounding tissues. SI joint pain typically occurs near the connection between the sacrum and pelvis, while lower back pain may refer discomfort into the buttock, outer hip, or upper leg.
Because these areas are so closely connected, pain location alone does not always identify the source. That is why two patients may both describe “hip pain” while having very different underlying problems and requiring different approaches to care.
When Hip Pain Needs Medical Attention
Most musculoskeletal hip pain is not a medical emergency, but certain symptoms should be evaluated promptly.
Seek medical attention if hip pain follows significant trauma, you cannot bear weight on the affected leg, the joint appears deformed, or you develop severe swelling, rapidly worsening weakness, fever, or other concerning symptoms. Sudden severe hip pain following a fall, especially in an older adult, should receive prompt medical evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chiropractor help with hip pain?
Chiropractic care may be one part of a conservative treatment plan for certain types of musculoskeletal hip pain. Whether chiropractic or extremity treatment is appropriate depends on the cause of the problem, hip mobility, strength, previous injuries, health history, and examination findings. At Whole Family Chiropractic, we evaluate each patient individually before recommending care.
How do I know if my hip pain is actually coming from my lower back?
Pain from the lumbar spine can sometimes be felt in the buttock, outer hip, or upper leg. Symptoms may also change with spinal movement or occur alongside lower back pain, numbness, tingling, or radiating symptoms. A physical examination can help determine whether the hip, spine, SI joint, or another structure may be contributing.
Can arthritis cause hip pain?
Yes. Osteoarthritis can affect the hip joint and may cause pain, stiffness, reduced mobility, and difficulty with walking or weight-bearing activities. The severity of symptoms can vary, and not every patient with arthritic changes experiences the same level of discomfort.
Do I need an X-ray or MRI for hip pain?
Not every patient needs imaging. Evaluation typically begins with your health history, movement, strength, symptoms, and physical examination. X-rays may provide information about arthritis, joint-space changes, fractures, or other structural findings, while an MRI may be recommended when muscles, tendons, cartilage, or other soft tissues need to be evaluated more directly.
Can hip pain improve without surgery?
Yes. Many musculoskeletal hip problems can improve with conservative treatment and do not require surgery. Depending on the cause, care may include activity modification, rehabilitation, strengthening, mobility work, chiropractic or extremity care when appropriate, and other supportive approaches.
Ready to get help with your hip pain?
If you are searching for hip pain treatment in Anchorage, a chiropractor for hip pain, help with hip stiffness and mobility, or conservative care for pain involving the hip, pelvis, SI joint, or lower back, Whole Family Chiropractic is here to help you understand your options.
Our team will evaluate your hip, explain what we find, and recommend the type of care that makes sense for you.
Looking for a great family chiropractor in Anchorage?
Contact us today at 907-562-3060 for an appointment
Whole Family
Chiropractic
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8:30am – 6pm
Tuesday & Thursday
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